City police officer resigns after sex abuse probe

CHILLICOTHE -- A Chillicothe Police Department officer on paid leave since Nov. 15 as the result of a sexual assault complaint won't be charged in connection with that case, but he has resigned.

William Stansberry Jr., 38, submitted his resignation Dec. 3, according to a news release from the department.

Police had not previously said why Stansberry, an officer with the department since 2011, was placed on leave, but Wednesday's statement said a sexual assault complaint had been made against the officer Nov. 14 at Adena Medical Center.

The alleged victim originally refused to name her attacker and declined to speak to anyone in law enforcement, including both Ross County Sheriff George Lavender and County Prosecutor Matthew Schmidt. The next morning, however, the victim gave a statement to Ross County Sheriff's Office detectives that named Stansberry as the suspect and said the attack happened inside the city limits.

Interim Police Chief Keith Washburn said prosecutors determined the sex abuse allegations "did not amount to criminal sexual conduct" and, because of that, no charges were filed against Stansberry. Meanwhile, allegations arose that Stansberry may have illegally used police computers, and the Pike County Sheriff's Office began investigating those claims Dec. 1.

The next day, Stansberry's union representative contacted the city and said Stansberry was willing to resign. Schmidt agreed not to prosecute Stansberry on any charges related to the misuse of the police computers in exchange for the resignation. The only caveat to the agreement was that any allegations concerning Stansberry received after Dec. 3 would be investigated and potentially prosecuted.

As the result of Stansberry's resignation, an administrative investigation into whether Stansberry was guilty of any instances of police misconduct was dropped.

"The results of the AI can be used to issue departmental sanctions such as suspensions without pay or termination," Washburn said. "Since William Stansberry Jr. resigned and is no longer a Chillicothe Police officer, the AI was terminated."

A check of Stansberry's personnel file last month yielded nothing other than his hiring information and the letter placing him on leave.

Stansberry worked for the Ross County Sheriff's Office before joining the city police department.